Dre Does Multi Use Summer Essentials

While I love a good full on glam look like the next girl, you will 95% of the time find me with little makeup on in the summer time. As an oily skin type that only gets oilier in the hotter months, I hate having a full face on during the day. So today I bring you the SIX key products to keep in your purse so you can have an easy summer look, not only quickly, but with multiuse products. Each one can be used in multiple ways, which is always a bonus.

Dre's Summer Essentials:

1. Concealer stick: Perfect for multiple reasons, it will help with covering blemishes and under eye circles, evening out skin tone, highlighting your brow bone, and using as a base for eyeshadow! (Covergirl Trueblend shown above)

2. Powder: You can't get around this one this time of the year. Powder will even out your skin tone and help control oil, so it's a must to keep it on hand in the summer. (Mac Studio Fix Powder Foundation shown)

3. Cool toned Bronzer: My favorite is Hoola by Benefit Cosmetics because it isn't too warm toned, which makes it great for contouring your face but also to use as a crease color so you don't have to carry around any eyeshadow. 

4. Champagne highlighter: a face highlighter is great to not only enchnace a summer glow on your cheekbones, but you can also use it as an all over lid color instead of eyeshadow. MAC Cosmetics Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Superb Shown)

5. Cream Blush Stain: Many companies make multiuse cheek and lip products so find a shade you love for both your lips and cheeks. I love a good natural coral that will give your skin a natural summer flush on both your cheeks and lips. (Stila Convertible Color shown)

6. Waterproof Mascara: a waterproof mascara is always good to keep on hand incase you want to intensify your look but if you keep a small eyeliner brush with you too, you can use the mascara as a gel eyeliner in a pinch! (tarte Lights! Camera! Splashes! Waterproof mascara shown)

My favorite thing to do in the summer is keep these 6 products, a travel pack of makeup remover wipes and blush, Bronzer, and eyeliner brushes in my purse as well. This way if I'm out and about with makeup already on or none at all, I can find a bathroom, quickly clean my face and apply these 6 products for a complete and easy summer look! 

Don't be afraid to think outside of the box when it comes to makeup! There are no rules and you can use products however they work best for you! 

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does an Update

May has been the absolute craziest and most wonderful month yet this year. With that being said I feel like I owe you guys an update on my life and what 'Dre has actually been doing' besides blogging...haha so here it goes! We're going to keep it short and sweet!

Within the last 4 to 5 weeks I have:

-moved apartments!

-taken my boards and become a licensed esthetician!

-turned 24!

-been out of town every weekend for either work, visiting family, celebrating my birthday, or visiting friends in Chicago!

-started working at a new job at a wonderful spa with people I love!

-apartment/house hunted for my move in July (luckily I found it!)

-searched, interviewed, and accepted a second job as a part time nanny in the area I'll be moving to!

While all of these things have been keeping my life hectic and insane I wouldn't have changed a thing because I've been having a blast and enjoying this huge change in my life that is to come! I'm excited to move to a new place with new people and adventures to be had. 

Dre will now start doing what she loves and get back to blogging ;) Feel free to leave any suggestions as to what that should entail!

Have a beautiful day,

Dre 

Dre Does a Quick Tip to Save Your Feet

You know when you get suckered into buying a pair of heels because they are such a good deal but they are just slightly too small and rub? Well I might have recently done this because I spotted some clearance black beauties at DSW. They were classic black suede stilettos that I knew I would get a lot of wear out of so I happily brought them to the register. However, they were slightly too small and rubbed near my toes. I figured I would just wear them around my apartment and break them in for awhile to stretch them out. Then after having a conversation with one of my coworkers, she mentioned a trick that I have to share because it works so well! (The perks of working in the beauty industry with other women...We are all full of tricks!) She told me to put on two pairs of really bulky and dense socks and then put my shoes on and blow dry the tight areas for 30 minutes. I tried it and it absolutely works! It stretched the heels so perfectly and they even conformed to the shape of my toe area better so they don't hurt and rub! I even cheated and didn't do the full 30 minutes and it still worked great. I'm guessing depending on the material of the show you might have to do it a little longer. 

I hope this helps! What weird fashion tricks do you know? Leave me a comment below and I might feature you in an upcoming post!

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does How To Conceal Between Brow Waxes

There could be multiple reasons why your brows aren't perfectly tweezed and shaped. You could be growing out a bad wax job or simply haven't found the time to visit your favorite esthetician yet (wink wink). Regardless of the reason, sometimes we just need tricks to help us look more put together when we simply do not have enough time. Today's trick works best on those extra stray hairs that we are always waxing away. Do yourself a favor and go buy a concealer stick/pencil. My current favorite is by Covergirl Tru Blend and it's readily available and cheap. You are just going to apply this concealer right in the areas where you need waxing. You want to be light handed because if you apply too much it can start to get obvious that you are trying to hide something. The pencil shape makes it easy to apply along the curve of your brow. Now the key to this is to use concealer because it is completely shimmer-free. You may be thinking why can't I just use a highlighting pencil that's specifically designed to be placed under the brow. The problem is that these will sometimes contain shimmer or shine which is great for highlighting when you are smooth and just waxed. However, shimmer and shine emphasize texture so if you're covering baby hairs you're going to attract attention to them. So a semi-matte concealer is going to be your best bet! This trick isn't going to make you look like you just got your brows done, but it will help get you by an extra few days until you can get them taken care of! 

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does a Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette Review

Congrats Too Faced! You have officially figured women out; an eyeshadow palette that smells like chocolate! Does it get any better than that? (Ok maybe if it came with chocolate you could eat...but let's carry on with the review)

I had been hearing multiple things about this palette and all of them were great. I received a Sephora gift card so as I made my way to the store I had this palette in mind. With one look and smell of the palette I was sold. Not only does it smell amazing (the shadows have cocoa powder in them giving them a magnificent aroma), but the colors are gorgeous! This is the description on the back and I agree with it all: "Indulge your craving for chocolate with these 16 antioxidant-rich cocoa powder infused matte and shimmer shades of natural browns, delicate pinks and luscious plums. Inspired by our best-selling cocoa powder infused Chocolate Soleil Bronzer, the collection of decadent shadows is the perfect complement to any skin tones. Chocolate Bar comes with our signature Glamour Guide with three beauty looks to get you started." First of all, I lost that guide so whoops haha but yes you get that! Secondly I highly agree with the statement that they are perfect for any skin tone. There are cool, warm and neutral shades that will work for anyone. Instead of picking up the next Naked Palette (don't get me wrong those are nice too but work for specific skin tones instead) I would get the Chocolate Bar palette. I love how the plums and pinks are included to give you something more than just neutral looks. 

As far as the packaging goes, I love it. It's a brown metal palette with a magnetic closure. It feels very solid and durable. I'm a huge fan of this styling of packaging. There's also a nice sized mirror on the inside of the palette that's wide enough to see both eyes up close at once! 

The little plastic overlay with all of the shadow names comes out. While I like that this makes for a smaller palette because you don't have to make room by the shadows for names, I don't like that this is easy to lose and not keep track of what the colors are called. 

The picture above shows the shadows in indoor lighting with no flash. The picture below shows the shadows in natural outdoor lighting with no flash, which is a more accurate depiction of the actual shades. 

Overall, this palette has 7 matte shades, 3 shimmers with actual glitter, and 6 satin sheen shades. I would say the satins are the creamiest and most pigmented shades, then the mattes are shimmers are just slightly less pigmented and buttery. Overall the quality is amazing though and I find the colors easy to blend and work with. I also love that there is a great mix of finishes within the palette, especially that there both matte and satin highlight options (the two larger shadows). Below I've swatched and listed all of the color names for easy reference. The names are to the left of the corresponding swatches. 

If you're looking for a good neutral palette, I'd definitely get this one. Women who have a more neutral skin type like me (have equal parts warm and cool so you can wear either), I would highly recommend this palette because there's a good mix of undertones. Even those who are specifically warm or cool, I think you'd enjoy it as well, because let's be real. We women love chocolate and makeup and Too Faced certainly hit the nail on the head with this one!

If you have any requests for reviews please leave me a comment and let me know!

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does Quick Tips on How to Make the Most of Your Wardrobe

As much as we try to wear everything in our closets, I think we can all admit sometimes we only gravitate towards some items. I have a few tips to help get the most out of everything you own.

1. Every time you wear an item from your closet flip the hanger around so it faces the opposite way. Every two weeks or even month, flip everything back to the same direction. This way you can easily keep track of what you've worn recently and the items that are being neglected. Then try really hard to put those items to good use and break them out! You might find things fit you different or look better than you remember! 

2. Reorganize your closet! This might seem like no brainer, but if you can't see everything your wardrobe has to offer you're more likely to stick to the same items. I have so many items that if I don't see them, I honestly sometimes forget all of the options I have. 

3. Take an evening to go through your closet and pre-plan outfits. You can even take pictures of combinations you like and keep them for when you're feeling uninspired or don't know what to wear. If you take the time to try everything on and see what works together you'll know when you're crunched for time what works and what doesn't. 

4. Think outside of the box! Just because you bought a certain item to wear a specific way, doesn't mean you have to. The best part about fashion is that there are no rules. There are so many great places to find inspiration now online so don't be afraid to look and try some new things! 

I hope these tips help! What are some ways you get the most out of what you already own? Let me know in a comment below. 

Have a beautiful day,

Dre